The owner of the Starlite Drive-in theatre in Grand Bend has purchased the former Centralia College in Huron Park.
Allan Barnes says he wanted the property as soon as the college closed but the price at that time was around $8 million. He bought a little over a month ago for $275,000. Barnes explains the building he really wanted was the Middlesex building and plans to convert it into a three-screen movie theatre and a five-lane bowling alley with a small bumper car area. But that is dependent on zoning.
Right now Barnes owns six buildings consisting of 190,000 sq. ft. of empty classrooms, student residences, two bars, a church and a giant cafeteria.
And at this point they are still going through every room trying to figure out what key opens which door.